Platform for establishing connections for on-line advertising

Abstract

A platform and method for streaming live advertising provides user access to streaming content and coordinates collaboration between a host, who directs a sales presentation, a presenter, provides the sales presentation of a product under direction by the host, and a supplier of the product. The platforms provides a link between the different entities to select from, negotiate, and establish a collaboration with other entities for generating streaming content for advertising a supplier's product, then schedules a time slot for a streaming event and distributes the streaming content to consumer devices for display to prospective consumers.

1 . A platform for establishing links between one or more remote entities for collaboration in the generation and distribution of live content to viewer devices, the platform comprising:
 a live streaming server in communication with a network, the live streaming server configured for receiving streaming content associated with at least a host entity and a presenter entity;   live streaming sources in communication with the live streaming server, each live streaming source configured for generating streaming content for distribution over the network; and   an administration server in communication with the network, the administration server configured for managing collaboration between three entities comprising the host entity, the presenter entity, and a supplier entity, wherein the host entity directs a sales presentation, the presenter entity performs the sales presentation of a product of the supplier entity under direction of the host entity;   user interfaces in communication with the network to enable interactions between the three entities, the user interfaces comprising at least one host entity interface in communication with a host entity-associated live streaming source, at least one presenter entity interface in communication with a presenter entity-associated live streaming source, and at least one supplier entity interface;   wherein the administration server is configured to execute a sign-up process through which a platform user signs up to participate as one of the three entities in a managed collaboration, and wherein the administration server is further configured to:
 receive a request from a first platform user who wishes to participate in the coordinated collaboration, wherein the first platform user is a first of the three entities; 
 display to the first platform user candidate options for second and third entities of the three entities; 
 receive candidate options selected by the first platform user for selected second and third entities of the three entities; 
 provide communication links between the at least one host entity interface, the at least one presenter entity interface, and the at least one supplier entity interface associated with the three entities through which the three entities negotiate and establish the managed collaboration with each other through which the host entity and the presenter entity each use a corresponding live streaming source to generate streaming content to advertise the supplier entity's product; 
 receive requests for scheduling a time slot for a streaming event associated with the managed collaboration between the three entities; 
 generate a viewer interface configured to interface with viewer devices at the scheduled time slot; 
 communicate with the live streaming server to initiate distribution of the streaming content via the viewer interface for display on the viewer devices at the scheduled time slot; and 
 receive viewer communications from the viewer devices via the viewer interface and direct the viewer communications to one or more of the host entity for response during the scheduled time slot, a storage medium for recording viewer reactions, and a transaction server for securing payment for purchases of the supplier's product. 
   
     
     
         2 . The platform of  claim 1 , wherein the administration server is further configured to track sales of the supplier's product during the scheduled time slot and communicate sales data to the host entity. 
     
     
         3 . The platform of  claim 1 , wherein the administration server is further configured to determine compensation to one or more of the three entities based on sales of the supplier entity's product and a negotiated compensation arrangement between collaborating entities. 
     
     
         4 . The platform of  claim 1 , wherein the host entity and the presenter entity generate streaming content at a common location. 
     
     
         5 . The platform of  claim 1 , wherein the host entity and the presenter entity generate streaming content at remote locations. 
     
     
         6 . The platform of  claim 1 , wherein the host entity comprises a celebrity or influencer. 
     
     
         7 . The platform of  claim 1 , wherein the administration server is further configured to receive inquiries or comments from the prospective consumers during live streaming of the streaming content and to communicate the inquiries or comments to the host entity for directing the sales presentation. 
     
     
         8 . The platform of  claim 1 , wherein the administration server is further configured to collect reviews or ratings of one or more entity from other entities and to generate entity profiles to facilitate selection by the first platform user from among options for second and third entities for a specific sales presentation. 
     
     
         9 . The platform of  claim 1 , wherein the streaming content is live video. 
     
     
         10 . The platform of  claim 1 , wherein the streaming content is audio only. 
     
     
         11 . The platform of  claim 1 , wherein one or more of the host entity and the presenter entity appears in the streaming content as an avatar. 
     
     
         12 . A method for establishing links between one or more remote entities for collaboration in the generation and distribution of live content to viewer devices, the method comprising:
 connecting at least one live streaming server with a network, the at least one live streaming server configured for receiving streaming content from a plurality of live streaming sources associated with at least a host entity and a presenter entity;   providing an administration server in communication with the network for providing user access to streaming content and for coordinating collaboration between three entities, wherein the three entities comprise the host entity, the presenter entity, and a supplier entity;   generating a plurality of user interfaces comprising at least one host entity interface in communication with a host entity-associated live streaming source, at least one presenter entity interface in communication with a presenter entity-associated live streaming source, and at least one supplier entity interface;   receiving a request from a user interface associated with a first platform user who wishes to participate in the coordinated collaboration, wherein the first platform user is a first of the three entities;   displaying to the first platform user selectable options for second and third entities of the three entities;   receiving options selected by the first platform user for selected second and third entities of the three entities;   providing communication links between the three entities to negotiate and establish a coordinated collaboration with each other through which the host entity and the presenter entity generate streaming content advertising the supplier entity's product; scheduling a time slot for a streaming event associated with the coordinated collaboration between the three entities;   generating a viewer interface configured to interface with viewer devices at the scheduled time slot;   communicating with the at least one live streaming server to initiate distribution of the streaming content via the viewer interface for display on the viewer devices at the scheduled time slot;   receiving viewer communications from the viewer devices via the viewer interface and directing the viewer communications to one or more of the host entity for response during the scheduled time slot and a transaction server for securing payment for purchases of the supplier's product; and   storing in a storage medium in communication with the administration server one or more of the viewer communications, host entity responses to the viewer communications, and transaction records for purchases.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising tracking sales of the supplier's product during the scheduled time slot and communicating sales data to the host entity 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12 , determining compensation to one or more of the entities based on sales of the supplier entity's product and a negotiated compensation arrangement between collaborating entities. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the host entity and the presenter entity generate streaming content at a common location. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the host entity and the presenter entity generate streaming content at remote locations. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising receiving inquiries or comments from the prospective consumers during live streaming of the streaming content and providing the inquiries or comments to the host entity for directing the sales presentation. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising collecting reviews or ratings of one or more entity from other entities and to generate entity profiles to facilitate selection by the first platform user from among options for second and third entities for a specific sales presentation. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the streaming content is one of live video and live audio. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein one or more of the host entity and the presenter entity appears in the streaming content as an avatar.